Western appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1885-18??, 1887-12-03
SCENES IN HYDERARAD.
Life on the Streets Of midas Famous
Battlemented City.


Life on the streets OF midas Famous
Battlemented City.
All agree in calling Hyberahad the
most interesting city inIndia. It is the
people themselves, the street life, the
lnediaval pageants and pomp, which
fascinate. Every thing seems to have
stood still for centuries. One is
plunged suddenly into the age Of the
cavaliers. The town is battlemented
and ditched and jealousy guarded. In
fact, q permit from the residents is
necessary for Europeans who wish to
enter the walls.
Once over the bridge spanning the
half-dried stream, where elephants are
splashing in the deep pools and hum
dreds Of "dhobies" are pounding and
scrubbing the linens of the Hyderabadee
households, and what Kaleidoscope
Jumble meets the eye in the densely
crowded streets! There are long rows Of
low, whitewashed buildings. with fa-
cades OF Saracenic arches, under which
the merchants squat among piles OF
cotton goods, silks, carpets, brass-ware,
grain, etc., sucking meditatively the am
Der mouthpiece Of the inevitable club
ble-bubble;'' money-changers chewing
betel-leaf and rafting their bags OF
"hallisicker' rupees, or Jumps through
cut silver and copper. On the flat, ter
raced roofs yelled women are curiously
peering at the yelling throng below
through latticed screens, reminding one
OF Stamboul or Cairo. Elephants gor-
geously caparisoned, saddled with silver
''howdah" in which '.Nawabs, clad in
brilliantly embroidered silks and vel
vets, recline on cushions; camels on
which are perched the Arab soldiers Of
the Nizama armed with lance and
shield; prancing little horses from the
Persian gulf mounted by sharp-featured.
inferred Parsees, bankers or great mer.
chants, are seen; while the multi-col-
ored throng Of pedestrians, Enthusiastically
arrayed, or scarce arrayed at all, as the
case may be, rolls increasingly to and
fro.
To the uninitiated stranger it would
seem that the whole population is about
to rush forth to do battle with some in
visible enemy, for all are 6ercely,
alarmingly hung about with murderous
weapons, from the great noble, with
his bejeweled rapier dashing by, fol-
lowed by his escort of Arab cavalry,
with swords drawn or lances bent, to
the peaceful t'ryot,'' who has brought
in his little harvest OF fruit or grain, a
spear and shield in his hand, and wear
ing girdle full of cleaning knives
and ancient pistols, and from the Nizam
with sword-hilt scintilating with the
gems Of yonder Golconda treasure
house, to the ''Sais, y who runs before
your elephant, dagger between his
teeth. A poor devil may have no
cloak, no turban. but he is sure to have
q couple of long-bladed knives thrust
into his meager loin-cloth or long
barreled Arab gun slung across his
bare shoulder. Fastened on the per-
sons of the Hyderabadees one sees
every variety of death-dealing weapon
the curved cimeter, Jagged ''tulwar. y
double-edged crusader, undulating
blades of blush steel, per6dious, slim
stilettoes and battle-axes. with every
conceivable form of modern and an
cient gun and pistol, blunderbuss and
matchbox. Many carry round shields
Of transparent rhinoceros hide, gilded
and painted, OF of steel deliberately In
crusted with graceful designs in gold
or silver.-M y Post.